Song of the waves - Parayil A. Tharakan Blog

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Pebbles and pavement

Pavements are usually made with stones that are shaped by humans and attractively arranged. But pebbles are formed by nature and they are just beautiful. Have you ever thought how long it takes these pebbles to attain their shapes? Centuries? More?

Photos: ©KO Isaac

Also see:

Photos: Raindrops by Isaac

Ripples on water

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Kerala food: Achappam

Achappam is a crisp savory. It is round, golden brown in color and with an intricate design that resembles a flower. A mold heated in oil is used to make it; ‘achu’ in Malayalam means mold.

I used to think that achappam is a South Indian delicacy till reading recent posts (June 21, 22) in my good friend Jacob Matthan’s Jacob's Blog (an interesting site, I must say). He and his wife Annikki stay in Oulu, Finland. They go to a Thai restaurant in Oulu and guess what they find? Achappam!

This image is from Jacob's Blog, which has a few good pictures of the savory. Jacob immediately writes about it in his blog. He follows it up by providing the recipe for this delicacy. And the recipe is by none other than late Mrs. K.M. Mathew, the famous culinary expert. Jacob is her nephew.

Go to Jacob's Blog and read all about it.

Ends.

Also see:

Kerala Cuisine: Manga thera (mango mat) recipe

Monday, July 2, 2007

Mango trees: 'ottu mavu' and 'nattu mavu'

Today I got a reference about ‘nattu (native) mavu (mango tree)’. The mangoes from these are small. There are two types of them. The sour variety is generally used for curries and pickles but there are sweeter types for juice and making a delicacy called ‘thera’. See my post Mango Memories. Add Image

‘Ottu (grafted or budded) mavu’ is not native to the land. Their mangoes are table fruit. Another difference between the two types of trees is that ‘ottu mavu’ is intentionally planted whereas ‘nattu mavu’ grows at random, from discarded nuts.

The photo below is that of an ‘ottu mavu’ in a corner of our front yard. It is an Alfonso. I bought the sapling from the government nursery at Cochin and planted it about fifteen years back. It was a sickly looking tiny plant with one of the two branches already dead. That was the only one available. I had my doubts whether it would survive, but it caught on well probably because of the sandy soil. The brownish leaves on the tree are tender ones. You can see supports to prevent the low branches from touching the ground. Children have a great time climbing the tree. The mangoes are excellent.

Here we have the picture of a ‘nattu mavu’ just outside our gatehouse:

I have no idea how old the tree is. Over a hundred years? That would mean that it has seen six generations in our family – my great-grandfather during his sunset years to my grandson who is just seven. The tree has been like this from the time I can remember except that some of the lower branches were cut off so that they wouldn’t block the road. Look carefully and you can see the stumps. The tree stopped yielding about ten years back, but still seems healthy.

I hope that this grand old lady lives on to witness at least one more generation.

Ends.

Photos: ©KO Isaac

Click on the images to enlarge.

Also see:

Mango Memories

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Water lilies: here is a picture of nature's perfection, imperfection

Photo: KO Isaac

I felt so sad seeing this picture, in fact rather depressed. Out of the three water lily buds, two seem perfect and one is deformed or damaged. Is it a genetic deficiency or disfigurement caused by external forces? First I thought of cropping out the defective one but decided to keep it any way because that is reality, part of nature.

Water lily is a hardy plant that grows in fresh water bodies. Their flowers are very pretty. In the same field you can find water lily blooms of different colors. We have plenty of them in Olavipe, in the rice fields and in the lake, some times in the ponds and canals as well.

They die out when the water starts turning saline around December. But the bulbs containing the seeds – they are edible – remain embedded in the lake floor to sprout again when the rains come in June and salinity is neutralized. Where salt water doesn’t enter, you find water lilies throughout the year.

Out of one of those seeds that lay buried, the plant shown in the picture came up. Why did it produce a blemished bud? Will it open at all? Even if it does, no village girl will make a garland out of it and wear. No one would cut a flawed flower and display it in a vase.

We see this everyday in human life. In the same family some children are strong and healthy and some weak and sickly. There are so many mentally challenged people, physically handicapped ones. Why? And what can we do for them?

Ends.

Also see: Karthiki captures some Olavipe flowers

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Every dog has his day

The well-dressed, affluent looking guests watched with rapt attention as the bridal march started. The bride’s gown was stunning – a specially designed full skirt of white satin, with a matching waistband. Classy. A veil and tiara complemented the costume. The bridesmaid wore a stylish pink creation with lacework.

The bridegroom was dressed elegantly in a tuxedo, white vest front and satin bow tie. The grapevine was that he had considered sleeveless attire, but finally decided that it would be far out.

Sounds like a report on a society wedding? Well, it could be, with the presence of socialites, partying and all the rest of it. But one difference in this case was that both the bride and bridegroom were dogs. Really. It was a canine wedding! Well, such things do happen!

Here the focus is on dog clothes. It is big business. Top designers. Specialist tailors. Select material. A fortune can be spent on pampering the pets and for some one-upmanship. You know, talk of the town and that sort of thing. There are costly books on designing dresses for dogs, patterns that one can buy for a price, and highly paid seamstresses who will create exquisite pieces.

Not all dog clothes need be that expensive. Readymade ones are much cheaper than designer items. These are marketed mainly by big companies who usually prefer outsourcing the stitching. Choose what you want – party dresses, warm clothes, casual wear, summer specials – it’s all there. If you don’t like to visit a crowded shop, order on line. But the measurements should be given precisely and according to the instructions provided, in the stipulated format. The breed of the dog is also to be mentioned because it will contribute to a perfect fit. The suppliers keep physical details of popular breeds.

In some small towns there are tailors who do make dog clothes. That could be more economic. Or do it yourself. If you are not good at designing, go to the Internet where many patterns are available. Most of them have a price tag, but there are free ones as well. If you have expertise in creating designs for dog clothes, start a website and sell patterns. Price them high. Many people who go in for dog clothes are unlikely to be interested in cheap stuff.

The bottom line is: fancy attire or not, keep your pets warm in winter.

Ends.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Education sector requirements - big business opportunity

This morning I came across a copy of Education World – Special Directory, January, 2007. The publishers call it “path-breaking first-of-its-type special directory.” The stated objective is to make “a platform available for the country’s top institutional needs suppliers to inform prospective schools about their excellent products and services.”

This sector could very well be what the editorial calls the last frontier of the Indian economy. Look at the enormous volume – 900,000 primary and 133,000 secondary schools, 17,700 colleges, 344 universities, 950 management schools, over a hundred ‘international’ schools, 120 million students, 5 million teachers! And the outlay? Over 110,000 crores, (say nearly US$ 27.5 billions?) This amount might double in the next three years. (All figures except the US$ conversion are from Education World.)

What are the needs of the educational sector? Anything from pencils to school buses. Education World lists them: desks, chairs, blackboards, audio-visual learning systems, personal computers, air conditioning, laundry, kitchen and water cooling [and purification] systems; classroom equipment such as text and notebooks, black and white boards, pens, pencils etc and consumables such as convenience foods, toiletries and snack-foods, beverages and fruits and vegetables. Items like uniforms, school bags umbrellas are not mentioned, but they too are part of the requirement.

It would appear that a major portion of this market is being catered to by local or regional small enterprises. According to Education World, “Invariably the quality of supplies is uneven and variable.”

What I feel is that the field is so vast that it can accommodate all kinds and sizes of players – from household enterprises to big companies. With India’s focus on literacy and the huge volume, this is a segment that is bound to grow rapidly. The present trend is for parents to provide better education to their children than what they had. And the schools, particularly in the private sector, are constantly improving in quality.

Ends.

Also see:

Back to The School

Autobiography of a School